Dead Space is amazing. Even better on second playthrough cos you can really focus on the beautiful detail in the graphics.

Just finished second playthrough of RE5. Pretty good. A bit of a step back from RE4 but good nonetheless. They really need to update the combat system. Not being able to aim when moving is so annoying.
Started Fallout 3 but dunno if I'm in the mood for it. It seems pretty cool though but endless walking around doing quests and sub quests doesn't really apeal at the mo.
Was thinking about firing up the PS2 and playing Silent Hill 2 again.

while i'm all for fun indie games, why dissapointed int industry? I don't have a current gen system, but newer games like Deadspace and Bioshock look amazing to me.

I guess I just feel like too much of the industry is focused on creating "blockbuster" games. If you poke around in the indie scene you'll find games that blow your mind, they're so creative. While there is SOME creativity in the mainstream, I feel like the majority of games these days are just movie/sports/gun games.

That being said, I've seen a few games recently that DID impress me. Portal seems awesome, I've heard good things about Bioshock, and Mass Effect as well. It seems sort of like movies, with 90% of all mainstream movies being crap, but then every now and then something really amazing comes along.

I'm very nostalgic about old games. I love the N64, and I grew up playing Sega Genesis. I think part of my dissatisfaction may be due to the fact that nothing will ever live up to the nostalgia that I STILL get when I play Chrono Trigger or Star Fox 64.

well, i hear you there. Much love for the Genesis! I constantly have my eye out for a not-too-expensive Herzog Zwei cartidge. (wish i could go back in time to punch my old self in the face for giving it away)

while the gameplay might(?--i don't really know) get stale in some of these newer games from not varying much from game to game--run, shoot, etc---the atmospheres they seem to create, visually and audio-wise, look to be the real advancements.

I haven't been blown away by a new videogame in years. Can you guys really say that this current era is bringing us anything that is truly innovative?

Games like Doom and the original Half Life left everything in the dust when they first came out. I mean, completely annihilated everything that came before them, but nowadays it seems like the same old tired formula in each and every new game with little to no variation.

well, i hear you there. Much love for the Genesis! I constantly have my eye out for a not-too-expensive Herzog Zwei cartidge. (wish i could go back in time to punch my old self in the face for giving it away)

while the gameplay might(?--i don't really know) get stale in some of these newer games from not varying much from game to game--run, shoot, etc---the atmospheres they seem to create, visually and audio-wise, look to be the real advancements.

Oh boy, no one is doubting that the technology hasn't come a long way, but gameplay is the centerpiece and most important aspect of a GAME. I mean, if it isn't fun then what is the point...? You might as well watch a movie.

but IF, again i can't speak from experience, the majority of new games are basically standard shooters, racers etc, when you boil them down--it still doesn't negate the evolutionary amount of ground being covered in creating that movie-like experience, which may be applied to more imaginative games down the road.

i'm sort of playing devil's advocate, as i bought a gamecube some years ago, just because I wanted weird games like Pikmin and not fancy Doom progeny, but i do think the leaps and bounds being made in the atmospherics of games is astounding.

I haven't been blown away by a new videogame in years. Can you guys really say that this current era is bringing us anything that is truly innovative?

Games like Doom and the original Half Life left everything in the dust when they first came out. I mean, completely annihilated everything that came before them, but nowadays it seems like the same old tired formula in each and every new game with little to no variation.

I think some clarification is necessary: I'm certainly not some die hard FPS junkie. My problem with videogames stems from the fact that there are too many games that fall within this genre nowadays.

I just used those two games as examples because for their time they were light years ahead of everything else and changed how people perceived the medium. If I used another example, like say Super Mario Bros. and what they did for platform gaming, then that would be just as relevant of an example. The RE series and Silent Hill are another (for what they did for survival horror videogames and vice versa). I just haven't played a game that has been ahead of its time in a long time. If you guys have any suggestions, then I am all ears of course.

theredhog: I haven't played those games yet, so I am not going to comment. I am not exactly "with it" anymore, but maybe I will check those titles out and get back to you at a later date.

I haven't been blown away by a new videogame in years. Can you guys really say that this current era is bringing us anything that is truly innovative?

Games like Doom and the original Half Life left everything in the dust when they first came out. I mean, completely annihilated everything that came before them, but nowadays it seems like the same old tired formula in each and every new game with little to no variation.

fallout 3. i mean, really.

world of warcraft was innovative as shit, too.

but if everything is gonna be a ripoff and we are going to speak in that context of things not being original, then doom wasn't original at all. it was just an updated version of wolfenstein. pretty sure both game were developed by the same company.